Despite Economic Crisis Plaguing Sri Lanka, Govt Says President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Will Not Resign

Sri Lankan Government on Wednesday said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign under any circumstances and will face the current issues, as it defended the embattled leader's decision to enforce a state of emergency, which he later revoked after huge public protests demanded his resignation over the country's worst economic crisis.

Speaking in Parliament, Chief Government Whip Minister Johnston Fernando said the government will face this problem and there is no reason for the President to resign as he was elected to office.

Claiming that the Opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramunawas (JVP) party was behind the violence in the country, Fernando said that this "thug politics" should not be allowed and called on the people to end the violence.

He said that the government will continue to work to address the issues faced by the public at present, the Colombo Page portal reported.

The Government also defended the President’s decision to enforce a state of emergency, that had given him sweeping authority to act in the interests of public security and preserving public order, including suspending any laws, authorising detentions and seizing property, saying it was declared after attempts were made to attack the President’s Office and other public property.

Rajapaksa had declared the emergency last week after protesters demonstrated near his home in Colombo. The protests initially began over shortages of essentials such as cooking gas, petrol, electricity and milk powder, but now have spread across the island nation and the demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and his government.

The President late Tuesday night revoked the emergency after huge public protests demanded his resignation.

The president and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire.

On Tuesday, a verbal clash took place in Parliament between ruling party and Opposition members when they held a debate over the current crisis in Sri Lanka.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was forced to suspend sittings twice as a result of a heated situation which arose in Parliament.

The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) also held placards in Parliament during the debate.

The Opposition questioned the state of emergency enforced and later lifted by the President and also insisted that the President steps down.

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday said it is closely following developments in Sri Lanka and urged the authorities to engage in a meaningful dialogue with political parties and civil society to find a solution to the deepening economic crisis, the Colombo Page reported.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell said public frustration had been rising in recent months with largely peaceful demonstrations taking place across the country and the situation has worsened over the past two weeks amid sudden shortages in fuel, cooking gas and some essential food items, as well as power cuts.

The Spokesperson said the Human Rights Office is concerned over the measures taken by the government declaring a state of emergency, curfew and internet ban and police violence against protesters.

“We are concerned that such measures are aimed at preventing or discouraging people from legitimately expressing their grievances through peaceful protests, and that they frustrate the exchange of views on matters of public interest,” she said.

After a demonstration outside the President’s residence on March 31, the government declared a state of emergency on April 1, announced curfew and shut down social media networks for some 15 hours on April 3.

There were also reports of excessive and unwarranted police violence against protesters.

“We remind the Sri Lankan authorities that measures related to states of emergency must comply with international human rights law, should be limited to the extent strictly required by the situation and be proportionate to it, and should not be used to stifle dissent or hinder peaceful protest," the UN Human Rights Office said.

Economists have warned that the country will plunge into more serious economic and political crises by the end of May.

“We have been hit by two crises, economic and political,” said Professor Janak Kumarasinghe.

He said both crises need urgent solutions to prevent further disasters.

President Rajapaksa is still struggling to appoint a Cabinet as none of the political parties responded positively to his offer to form a unity government to tackle the crisis.

He appointed just four ministers and one of them, the new finance minister, resigned after less than 24 hours in the job.

The Ministry of Finance is without a minister and its top bureaucrat with the resignation of the incumbent S R Attygalle.

The forex crisis had also hit the foreign service. The foreign ministry said that it was closing the Sri Lankan missions in Oslo and Baghdad while shutting the consulate in Sydney.

Following the 2019 Sri Lankan elections, the Rajapaksa family kept several portfolios in the government under their control.

While President Rajapaksa holds the all-powerful executive presidency, his elder brother Mahinda, who is a former president, is the current prime minister. Basil held the finance ministry and Mahinda's son Namal, the heir apparent, was the minister of youth and sports.
India recently announced to extend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous USD 

500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.

During his recently-concluded visit to Colombo, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had assured India’s continued support in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery process.

President Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven with the island nation’s tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.(With PTI inputs)